Server for controlling telecommunication and/or computer equipment using short messages of stationary or mobile telephones

ABSTRACT

A server for controlling telecommunications and/or computer equipment having a digital transmission link to the equipment. The server can receive and interpret short messages (SMS or UUS messages) including commands and send the commands to the telecommunications or computer equipment through the digital transmission link.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to PCT Application No. PCT/FR00/02121,filed Jul. 21, 2000, and French Application No. FR 99 09553, filed Jul.22, 1999.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a server for controlling telecommunicationsand/or computer equipment using the short messages of fixed or mobiletelephones.

The telecommunications equipment may be an automatic branch exchangecapable of performing an automatic call-back function by which a useroutside his company can be called back at the company's expense in orderto communicate with a correspondent using his telephone terminal.

The computer equipment may be an item of home automation or interactiveequipment.

2. Discussion of the Related Art

Hitherto, it has been possible to obtain remote access totelecommunications and/or computer services, especially for privateinstallations, by means of a telephone or a data terminal that can getconnected to a voice and/or data server of the company through theswitched telephone network (STN).

Access to the telecommunications and/or computer services is obtained byvoice access means that are slow or by complex connections, using modemsfor example.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary system according to the prior art. Inthis system, a private entity EP is shown. This private entity containsa set of user telephone units 10 connected to a private automatic branchexchange 20. The automatic branch exchange is connected to a switchedtelephone network R1 as well as to a voice and/or data server 40 bymeans of a telephone line LT. The private automatic branch exchange isalso connected by a CTI link referenced L to a CTI server (i.e. acomputer-telephony integration server) 30.

A remote user (who may not have a telephone unit 10 connected to theprivate automatic branch exchange) will therefore use his telephone 11or his data terminal 12, in this system, to access the company's voiceand/or data server 40 through the network R1. When access is obtained,the server asks the user to enter the sequence appropriate to therequested service. The server 40 sends on this sequence to the CTIserver that is capable of conducting the requisite programming operationin the private automatic branch exchange 20.

If the requested service is an operation of call forwarding from theuser's telephone unit, then the call to the user's unit will beforwarded to the number given by said user by means of his telephoneunit 11 or a data terminal 12.

For example, in the case of a remote command for call forwarding fromthe telephone unit attached to a private automatic branch exchange(PABX).

To perform this function with the system that has just been described,two methods may be considered:

-   -   access to a voice server or,    -   access by modem, Internet or Minitel.

According to the function, when the person is outside the company, hewill be able to carry out remote call forwarding from the telephone unitin the company to the number of his GSM terminal so that calls sent tohis telephone unit in the company can be received on his GSM terminal.

In the case of voice access, the user must call the number of the voiceserver in the company from a telephone. One possible sequence is thefollowing:

-   -   the company's voice server is called,    -   the voice server takes the call and requests the user to key in        the following by means of a DTMF (dual-tone modulation        frequency) sequence:        -   the number of the user's telephone unit in the company (for            example keying in four DTMF keys of the telephone keypad),        -   a personal password in order to authenticate the user (for            example four DTMF keys),        -   the type of forwarding desired, cancellation of forwarding            or request for forwarding (one or two DTMF keys),        -   the forwarding number to which the calls intended for the            telephone in the company will be forwarded,    -   the telephone unit is disconnected and the call is taken into        account.

In this method, the user will take about 90 seconds to enter theinformation and carry out this function.

In case of data access in general (using a modem, Minitel or Internetaccess), the user must get connected with the terminal appropriate tothe server in the company. One possible sequence is as follows:

-   -   the user connects to the company server and an entry page is        proposed to the user to be filled in with the following        information:        -   the number of the user's telephone unit in the company (for            example the keying in of four digits)        -   a personal password in order to authenticate the user (for            example four digits),        -   the type of call forwarding desired, cancellation of            forwarding or request for forwarding (several choices),        -   the call forwarding number to which the calls sent to the            company telephone unit will be forwarded,    -   the data terminal is disconnected and the call is taken into        account.

In this method, the user will take about 90 seconds to enter theinformation and carry out this function.

The aim of the invention is to enable faster access to atelecommunications and/or computer service. This is obtained by means ofa system using short messages to convey command parameters addressed tothe server.

These messages can be sent by telecommunications terminals such asmobile telephony terminals for which the short message service (SMS)will be used or else by means of fixed telephone terminals using theintegrated services digital network (ISDN), the messages being then sentaccording to the User-to-User Signalling (UUS) standard.

Advantageously, the messages could be pre-programmed in thetelecommunications terminals.

Thus, through the use of short messages from a telephone terminal, theuse of the telecommunications and/or computer services of an operator orof a private entity are easy and quick. The ISDN and GSM terminals forexample can be advantageously used within the framework of thisinvention.

OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention, the proposed system, which is givenby way of an example, enables much faster access since the user can usea mobile telephone 11 or a telephone terminal 13A or a data terminal13B, in using the GSM mobile telephony network or the ISDN digitaltransmission network to gain direct access to the server terminal.

The command parameters of the desired service will be conveyed in theform of short messages according to the GSM mobile telephony standard,namely the SMS standard or according to the digital transmissionstandard of an ISDN standard which is the UUS standard.

An object of the invention more particularly is a server for controllingtelecommunications and/or computer equipment comprising a digitaltransmission link to said equipment, chiefly characterized in that itcomprises means for the reception and interpretation of short messages(SMS or UUS messages) including commands and means for sending saidcommands to said telecommunications or computer equipment through saiddigital transmission link.

The invention also pertains to a control device comprising a server asdescribed here above and at least one piece of telecommunications and/orcomputer equipment controlled by said server, characterized in that thepiece of computer equipment is a piece of home automation equipment or,the command received by the server (40) being sent by atelecommunications terminal (11 or 13A or 13B), a piece of interactiveequipment capable, in return, of sending short messages to said serveraddressed to the terminal (11 or 13A or 13B) that has sent the command.

The invention also relates to a control device comprising a server asdescribed here above and at least one piece of telecommunications and/orcomputer equipment controlled by said server, the command received bythe server being sent by a telecommunications terminal, characterized inthat the command includes a call number of a telecommunicationsterminal, in that the telecommunications equipment is an automaticbranch exchange comprising means to call back the terminal that is thesender of the short message and means for linking said sender terminalwith the telecommunications terminal identified by said call number.

Finally, the invention relates to a control system comprising a deviceas described, characterized in that it comprises a plurality oftelecommunications terminals capable of sending short messages (SMS orUUS messages) conveying command parameters addressed to said server forthe activation and/or programming of said telecommunications and/orcomputer equipment or pieces of equipment.

According to one characteristic of the invention, the terminals aremobile telephony terminals, the short messages being SMS messages orISDN digital terminals, the short messages being UUS messages.

The short messages may be pre-programmed in the terminals.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other particular features and advantages of the invention shall appearmore clearly from the following description given by way of anon-restrictive example, with reference to the appended drawings ofwhich:

FIG. 1, which has already been described, is the drawing of a system ofaccess to telecommunications and computer services according to theprior art and,

FIG. 2 is the drawing of a system of access to telecommunications andcomputer services according to an application of the present invention

FIG. 3 is the drawing of a system of access to telecommunications andcomputer services according to another application of the presentinvention;

FIG. 4 is a drawing of a system of access to telecommunications andcomputer services according to a third application of the presentinvention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The system taken as an example and shown in FIG. 2 therefore comprises atelephone installation EP (a private installation in this example)fitted out with several telephone units connected to an automatic branchexchange 20.

The automatic branch exchange 20 is connected by a telephone line LT tothe switched telephony network STN, bearing the reference R1 in thedrawing. Furthermore, this automatic branch exchange 20 is connected bya CTI link L to the CTI server 30.

The CTI server 30 is connected to a remote terminal 40 known as acontrol server. The communications between the remote terminal and theCTI server are obtained by means of a digital transmission lineaccording to the TCP/IP protocol.

The remote server 40 is accessible through the mobile telephony networksR2 or the ISDN digital data transmission network R3. This access can beachieved respectively by means of telecommunications terminals such asmobile telephony stations 11 or telephony terminals 13A or datatransmission terminals 13B.

A remote user will use his mobile telephony station 11 for the dispatch,according to the invention, of an SMS short message directly to theremote server terminal which will interpret it to order theimplementation of the requested service. The CTI server 30 will thentransmit this request to the automatic branch exchange (PABX) 20 throughthe appropriate protocol of the CTI link. Calls to the user's telephoneunit 10 will therefore be forwarded to the number indicated by saiduser.

Thus, a user will use the short message sending function of his GSMterminal to be able to activate the requested service, especially todrive the operation of remote call forwarding from a company telephoneunit to the number of his GSM for example.

A user can advantageously pre-program the short-message requests for theforwarding of calls to his GSM terminal and call up this function at thedesired time through the menu of the short message service.

Thus, a short message is sent from the GSM terminal to the remote serverterminal 40 which is capable of receiving these short messages. Thisterminal reads the short message and interprets it. The short messagetakes the form of a sequence of information fields needed for theactivation of the requested service. This action takes only a fewseconds, the time needed to send the SMS short message from the GSMterminal.

In the case of a telephone unit call-forwarding operation, a shortmessage will be constituted, for example, by fields containing thefollowing command parameters separated as the case may be by a neutralfield (of the * type):

-   -   the number of the user's telephone unit in the company (for        example four digit keying-in),    -   a personal password in order to authenticate the user (for        example four digits),    -   the type of call forwarding desired (in the form of a code        corresponding to the activated or deactivated forwarding        function),    -   the forwarding number to which the calls intended for the        company telephone unit are sent.

The short message is sent to the number of the remote server 40.

The following is an example of a short message:

-   9191*1234*2*1234567890*.

The remote server 40 may also use a function offered by the present-daytelephony services for the identification of the caller to identify theuser and therefore know the number of the user's telephone in thecompany. In this case, the short message will not contain the number ofthe user's telephone unit and will then be of the following type:**1234*2*1234567890*.

Thus, according to the system just described, the user will take about10 seconds to send the information and carry out the forwardingfunction.

The remote server terminal 40 may acknowledge the request received. Inthis case, the server will send a short acknowledgement message to theterminal 11 or 13A, 13B.

We have just seen a detailed view of the way in which the system enablesthe high-speed remote configuration of call forwarding for a telephoneunit attached to a private automatic branch exchange of a company.

Some other services may thus be obtained. Indeed, it is possible to havethe automatic call-back service through which a user who is outside hiscompany can get called back at the company's expense to communicate witha correspondent by means of his telephone terminal.

This service is provided as follows by using the system shown in FIG. 3.

A GSM telecommunications terminal 11 or ISDN terminal 13A or 13B sendsthe short message to the server 40, which is installed for example in aprivate entity EP. Only the example of the GSM terminal 11 is shown inthis FIG. 2 so as not to overburden it. The short message will consistfor example of fields containing the following command parametersseparated as the case may be by a neutral field (of the * type):

-   -   the user's personal code (six digits for example) designed to        validate the user's rights to the automatic call-back service,    -   the number of the telecommunications terminal 14 to be called,        or a name if the server 40 has an incorporated directory.

The server 40, equipped with means for identifying the caller, knows thesource of the short message, namely the number of the terminal 11 fromwhich this message has been sent. The server 40 verifies that the user'spersonal code tallies with the caller's number. If the tallying isverified, the server 40 actuates the automatic branch exchange 20 of theprivate entity, through the CTI server 30, in order to call the callerwho immediately takes the connection since he has just sent the shortmessage (Arrow 1).

The server 40 again actuates the automatic branch exchange 20 in orderto make a double call and then a call transfer to the called party(Arrow 2) identified by the number of the telecommunications terminal 14to be called, indicated in the short message. This transfer links thecaller with the called party. The telecommunications terminal 14 may beconnected to the STN as shown in the figure, the mobile telephonynetwork or the ISDN.

This invention can also be applied to telecommunications services suchas the remote modification of a personal electronic diary by the sendingof a short message containing the modification to command parameters, bymeans of a GSM or ISDN telecommunications terminal.

This invention can also be applied to the field of home automationapplications for example to the remote control of the starting orshutting down of a boiler in a dwelling, the activation of a sprinkleror generally the control of any piece of home automation equipment.

In this case, by using the system shown in FIG. 4, the control server40, which for example will be a microcomputer (PC), is connected to thehome automation equipment 50 by a digital transmission link 60. A GSMtelecommunications terminal 11 or ISDN terminal 13A or 13B sends a shortmessage to the server 40, installed for example in a dwelling H. Theshort message will consist for example of fields containing thefollowing command parameters possibly separated by a neutral field (ofthe * type).

-   -   the user's personal code (six digits for example) designed to        validate the rights to use of the home automation service,    -   a field indicating the command related to the service:        activation of the boiler 50=I; deactivation=0, etc.

Similarly, interactive systems may be actuated by a server that receivesshort messages for controlling such systems. In this case, theinteractive system may also send out short messages to the sender of theshort command message through the server.

1. A server for controlling telecommunications or computer equipment,comprising: a digital transmission link to said equipment, means for thereception and interpretation of short message service (SMS) oruser-to-user signaling (UUS) short messages including commands, andmeans for sending said commands to the telecommunications or computerequipment through the digital transmission link, wherein the commandsreceived by the server are sent by a first telecommunications terminaland include a call number of a second telecommunications terminal, andwherein the telecommunications or computer equipment comprises means tocall back the first terminal that is the sender of the short message andmeans for linking the first terminal with the second telecommunicationsterminal identified by the call number.
 2. A control device comprising:a server for controlling telecommunications or computer equipment, theserver comprising a digital transmission link to the telecommunicationsor computer equipment, means for the reception and interpretation ofshort message service (SMS) or user-to-user signaling (UUS) shortmessages including commands, and means for sending the commands to thetelecommunications or computer equipment through the digitaltransmission link, wherein the commands received by the server are sentby a first telecommunications terminal and include a call number of asecond telecommunications terminal, and wherein the equipment comprisesmeans to call back the first terminal that is the sender of the shortmessage and means for linking the first terminal with the secondtelecommunications terminal identified by the call number, and whereinthe telecommunications or computer equipment is a piece of interactiveequipment capable, in return, of sending short messages to the serveraddressed to the first terminal that sent the command.
 3. A controlsystem comprising: a server for controlling telecommunications orcomputer equipment, the server comprising a digital transmission link tothe telecommunications or computer equipment, means for the receptionand interpretation of short message service (SMS) or user-to-usersignaling (UUS) short messages including commands, and means for sendingthe commands to the telecommunications or computer equipment through thedigital transmission link, wherein the commands received by the serverare sent by a first telecommunications terminal and include a callnumber of a second telecommunications terminal, and wherein thetelecommunications or computer equipment comprises means to call backthe first terminal that is the sender of the short message and means forlinking the first terminal with the second telecommunications terminalidentified by the call number; and a plurality of telecommunicationsterminals capable of sending SMS or UUS short messages conveying commandparameters addressed to the server for the activation or programming ofthe telecommunications or computer equipment or pieces of equipment. 4.The control system of claim 3, wherein the terminals are mobiletelephony terminals and the short messages are SMS messages.
 5. Thecontrol system of claim 3, wherein the terminals are integrated servicesdigital network (ISDN) digital terminals and the short messages are UUSmessages.
 6. The control system of claim 3, wherein the short messagesmay be pre-programmed in the terminals.